Designated hitter Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins agree on a $ 13 million one-year contract, ESPN Jeff Passan has revealed to sources.
Cruz, 40, starred in the Bomba Squad Twins series. And he will return in 2021.
The slugger, who scored .303 in the pandemic-shortened season with 16 home games, 33 RBIs and a career-high OPS + (169), finished sixth in the U.S. League MVP poll and was selected as the Marvin Miller- man of the year in the annual Players Choice Awards.
The award was given to the player who “most respects his peers based on his leadership on the field and in the community.” Cruz donated a fire truck and an ambulance and helped build a police station in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the Dominican Republic, and his Boomstick 23 foundation contributed wheelchairs and crutches and he set up a clinic on brought the bone to provide medical and dental care.
His mission to help his hometown and other towns in the Dominican Republic led to him receiving the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2020 ESPYS.
The designated hit played on a $ 12 million deal last season after winning a team of 41 home games, while reaching 108 RBIs in 2019, despite being twice on the injured list for a wrist problem. He reached the 40-homer point four times in his career; Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth score the all-time high with five seasons. Cruz was also the 57th player in major league history to score 400 home races in his career.
His .992 OPS in 2020 ranks fourth in the AL and was, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the fifth best point in MLB history by a player in his 39s or older. And he has led all major leagues with a 1,182 OPS on the stands in the strike over the past two seasons.
From 2014 to 2018, no player in the majors scored more home runs than Cruz (203). In the 16 major league seasons, Cruz, a six-time All-Star with three Silver Slugger awards, scored 417 home games with 1,152 RBIs and a batting average of 0.278 for the Twins, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers and Brewers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.